Letters: Charles Joyce, March 31, 2017

Perhaps I could clarify any doubt regarding my leaving the Labour Group at the borough council and my insistence that I would not be standing in the forthcoming county council elections in South Lynn.

It is not because I’ve had a major argument with any of my former borough colleagues. I had heard rumours that because I was barred by the Labour Party as a candidate in South Lynn county council division (only women could be considered) I would stand in opposition to the Labour candidate. Those rumours are baseless. Nothing would persuade me to stand in opposition to the independent Alexandra Kemp. She is a very conscientious county councillor who was forced to leave the Labour Party because she was good to her word and did what she could to oppose the incinerator. Some may remember that in October 2013 only Greens and UKIP across Norfolk voted to stop the incinerator. Most Conservatives were in favour. Labour and Lib Dems were split. Especially disappointingly the Labour and Lib Dem members of the then cabinet voted to continue with the incinerator. The very councillors who should have been leading the campaign to end the incinerator backed the establishment against the people of West Norfolk.

The local Labour Party passed a vote of no confidence in the county council leadership. Some local Labour members expressed their disappointment direct, and were met with a torrent of vitriolic and offensive abuse. I did intervene and the incinerator attack dogs were put back on the leash.

With Alexandra Kemp the situation was different and when she had had enough, she left the group of Labour county councillors and the Labour Party. Local Labour members exacted some revenge when later they deselected a borough councillor.

The disorganised chaos of the local Labour Party’s county council selection procedures denied them from finishing the job. Labour voters in North Lynn and the Friars may now want to take the golden opportunity they have to turn a chairman’s chain into a hangman’s rope, but they need to be aware there are still many Conservatives who hanker for their incinerator.